Posted by Administrator on Feb. 6th, 2016
Bruce Springsteen invited an 89-year-old grandmother on stage to dance during a performance of "Dancing in the Dark" during the the Boss's show at the Air Canada Centre in Toronto on Feb. 2. As Springsteen and his E Street Band performed the Born In the USA track during its encore performance, the rocker noticed the woman, named Evelyn, in the crowd enjoying the show, and asked her up to the stage. The show was part of his The River Tour, which will see the musician touring North America until March, finishing up with two shows in Los Angeles between March 15-17. His The River trek leads the Billboard Hot Tour Roundup from Jan. 26-Feb. 1, with $12.2 million in ticket sales. The first five dates of his North American arena trek are included in the roundup, and all five arenas since the Jan. 16 opener in Pittsburgh have logged a combined sold ticket count of 90,579, with Chicago's Jan. 19 show taking in $2.7 million at the box office and selling 19,120 tickets. - New Musical Express/Billboard, 2/3/16...... 
Meanwhile, Neil Young's erstwhile Crosby, Stills, Nash & Young bandmate Graham Nash made a surprise appearance at a Crosby, Stills & Nash tribute concert on May 13 at New York's Carnegie Hall. Various artists including Todd Rundgren, Steve Earle, Yola, Iron & Wine, Real Estate, and more were enlisted to perform at the event, and each broke out renditions of CSN's most iconic tracks in the name of charity. David Crosby died in Jan. 2023, and neither of the surviving members of the trio, Stephen Stills and Nash, were set to perform on the night. However, the latter surprised fans by coming onto the stage at the end of the night and performing two of his tracks -- a moving rendition of "Our House" (the beloved song he wrote while living with folk icon and former romantic partner Joni Mitchell) and participating in a final sing-along encore of the 1970 Stills' favorite, "Love The One You're With." Graham's comments upon entering the stage included "My only sadness is that I wish [David] Crosby was here." Other highlights of the night included Todd Rundgren putting his own spin on the track "Almost Cut My Hair," and Yola delivering a moving performance of "Wooden Ships." The concert was held as the 19th edition of Michael Dorf's annual Music Of charity show, which has raised over $2 million for music education and previously honored iconic names in rock such as Bob Dylan, The Rolling Stones, Bruce Springsteen, Van Morrison, Prince and Paul McCartney. On Oct. 1, Nash is set to return to Carnegie Hall as one of the dates on his upcoming US headline tour. - New Musical Express, 5/15/24...... Cher is promising to have some choice words for the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame when she's inducted into the Cleveland-based hall and museum on Oct. 19 alongside the likes of Peter Frampton, Foreigner, Ozzy Osbourne and Mary J. Blige. While walking the red carpet recently at the Paley Center in L.A. for the premiere of the documentary Bob Mackie: Naked Illusion -- about the fashion designer who has made so many of her glitter-dripping costumes over the years -- Cher said she was grateful for her pending induction. She thanked longtime friend and one-time paramour former music executive David Geffen and RRHOF Foundation chairman John Sykes for the honor and, in her inimitable way, warned that she will not go quietly into that very good night. "I'm going to have some words to say," Cher promised. "I'm going to accept it as me." Cher's first No. 1 hit was 1965's "I Got You Babe" with late partner Sonny Bono and she had been eligible for induction into the Hall of Fame since 1991. The "Believe Me" singer, 77, also has the incredible record of scoring No. 1 US hits over seven decades. - Billboard, 5/15/24...... On May 13 David Gilmour announced a series of shows at an historic Rome landmark as well as a handful of shows in the US. The guitar virtuoso and former Pink Floyd guitarist will perform at Rome's historic chariot-racing stadium Circus Maximus (Circo Massimo) during a six-night run taking place from Sept. 27 through Oct. 3. It will mark his return to the legendary venue and in Italy since his Rattle That Lock Tour in 2016. After performing six shows at London's Royal Albert Hall on Oct. 9, 10, 11, 12, 14 and 15, Gilmour also announced four shows taking place in North America. He'll perform at L.A.'s Hollywood Bowl on Oct. 29 and 30 and New York City's Madison Square Garden on Nov. 4 and 5. Gilmour is touring behind his forthcoming 
The Hulu and Disney+ streaming channels announced on May 14 that a new Bruce Springsteen and the E Street Band documentary that gives fans an up-close look at their touring process is coming to both platforms this October. The documentary will feature both archival footage of the longtime collaborators as well as behind-the-scenes video of the band's ongoing 2023-24 world tour. It will also include confessional interviews with the 74-year-old "Dancing in the Dark" singer, while members of the band will give first-hand accounts of performing onstage with the living legend and "keeping the magic of The E Street Band as potent as ever," according to a release. 20-time Grammy winner Springsteen is also involved in an upcoming biopic about his life and career from 20th Century Studios and Disney, in which The Bear's Jeremy Allen White will star as the New Jersey rocker. The announcement comes shortly after Springsteen and The E Street Band wrapped the U.S. leg of their 2024 world tour in April, and are now in the midst of playing a string of venues in Europe this spring and summer, after which they'll return to North America for more dates from August through late November. Playing in Ireland on May 12, The Boss and company paid tribute to the late Shane MacGowan with a rousing cover of the Pogues' classic "A Rainy Night in Soho" while performing in Ireland, fan-shot footage of which has been shared on 
On May 14 Earth, Wind & Fire reached a settlement with a tribute act that used the R&B group's name without permission, avoiding a looming trial over how much the unauthorized group would have to pay in damages. The settlement came two months after a judge ruled that the tribute group had infringed Earth, Wind & Fire's trademark rights by calling themselves "Earth, Wind & Fire Legacy Reunion" -- a name the judge called "deceptive and misleading." Following that ruling, a trial had been scheduled for later this month over how much "Legacy Reunion" would be required to pay in damages. But in a recent joint filing, attorneys for both sides said those proceedings would no longer be necessary. "The parties are in the process of preparing documents that reflect their agreement on the damages issues and that should fully dispose of the damages issues that remained unresolved in this action," the lawyers wrote. The terms of the agreement, including how much Legacy Reunion will pay to Earth Wind & Fire, were not disclosed in court filings, and neither side has yet commented. EWF has continued to tour since founder Maurice White died in 2016, led by longtime members Philip Bailey, Ralph Johnson and White's brother, Verdine White. The band operates under a license from an entity called Earth Wind & Fire IP, a holding company controlled by Maurice White's sons that formally owns the rights to the name. Tribute acts -- groups that exclusively cover the music of a particular band -- are legally allowed to operate, and they often adopt names that allude to the original. But they must make clear that they are only a tribute band, and they can get into legal hot water if they make it appear that they are affiliated with or endorsed by the original. - Billboard, 5/14/24...... In a Q+A event at Abbey Road Studios in London on May 13, Mike Love and Bruce Johnston of The Beach Boys discussed their new Disney+ documentary, the support they had from The Beatles, and the health of founding BB Brian Wilson. Love and Johnston reminisced freely about the band's early '60s origins as a family concern attempting to emulate the vocal blend of The Everly Brothers and The Four Freshmen. "The first time I ever remembered Brian singing was sitting on grandma Wilson's left singing 'Danny Boy'," Love said. "And I'm telling his voice was angelic at that time, when he was maybe eight or nine-years-old." The pair also paid tribute to the Beatles, as friendly competition and inspiration. Love recalled attending the Maharishi's retreat in India with the band and having Paul McCartney play him an early version of the Beach Boys-inspired "Back In The USSR" over breakfast there, while Johnston told of coming to the UK with a tape of [1966's] Pet Sounds and finding McCartney and John Lennon their biggest champions at a time when their US record label didn't know how to sell it. "They loved it and later on I found out that Paul was so influenced musically and vibe-wise by "Wouldn't It Be Nice" that he wrote "Here, There And Everywhere" for the [1966's] Revolver album. Our best promo guys in the whole world were Lennon and McCartney. Without them, Pet Sounds could have failed." The pair also revealed that 81-year-old Brian Wilson -- who has recently been placed under conservatorship for what his doctors call a "major neurocognitive disorder" -- was still able to perform with the band for the film. "Brian remembered things that I had forgotten from high school at times," said Love. "His long-term memory is right there. He does need the help medically -- but I think as long as he's alive he'll play that piano." The band are promoting their Disney+ documentary, The Beach Boys which hits the streaming platform on May 24. - NME, 5/14/24...... In a new interview with the BBC promoting his new photography exhibit Fragile Beauty: Photographs from the Sir Elton John and David Furnish Collection, Elton John explained he hates being photographed despite being a photography fanatic. Despite collecting thousands of photos, Elton said that "I would never put myself up on the wall (at home), no thank you. It's extraordinary that I collect photographs because I don't like being photographed. I find it really painful." He continued: "A lot of them I haven't seen hung properly or hung at all. And so walking through, it's been hung so beautifully and the different sections and wall colours. I couldn't be happier." Photography fans can expect to see a wide range of imagery in Elton's exhibit including significant moments from history including the civil rights movement, AIDS crisis, 9/11 and the Jan. 6 United States Capitol attack. John said that seeing his collection on the walls of London's V&A museum took his breath away. "A lot of them I haven't seen hung properly or hung at all. And so walking through, it's been hung so beautifully and the different sections and wall colours. I couldn't be happier." Fragile Beauty, which has more than 300 images captured by 140 photographs, will run at the V&A from May 18 through Jan. 5, 2025. - Music-News.com, 5/15/24...... Brian Eno, as well as members of Fontaines D.C., R.E.M, Bastille and more have read out letters from Palestinians suffering in Gaza as part of a "Voices For Gaza" initiative. The clips have been shared on the Instagram page for Voices For Gaza, and sees famous faces from across the entertainment industry read letters from those in Palestine aloud, recalling the graphic details of the current Hamas-Israel War. It aims to help raise funds for the charity Medical Aid for Palestinians and bring awareness to the ongoing crisis happening in the country. The conflict so far has led to the deaths of over 34,600 Palestinians, and the attacks by Hamas on Oct. 7 last year killed over 1,200 people. The full letter can be viewed on 
AC/DC have shared a photo of their new line-up on 
Renowned jazz saxophonist David Sanborn, who is credited on songs for Stevie Wonder, David Bowie and many more famous musicians, died on May 12. He was 78 years old. A message posted to 
On May 9 an L.A. Superior Court Judge found that Beach Boys co-founder Brian Wilson should be in a court conservatorship to manage the 81-year-old's personal and medical decisions because of what his doctor calls a "major neurocognitive disorder." Judge Gus T. May approved the petition filed by Wilson's family and inner circle after the death in January of his wife, Melinda Ledbetter Wilson, who handled most of his tasks and affairs. "I find from clear and convincing evidence that a conservatorship of the person is necessary," May said at the brief hearing. The judge said that evidence shows that Wilson consents to the arrangement and lacks the capacity to make health care decisions. A doctor's declaration filed with the petition in February said Wilson has a "major neurocognitive disorder," is taking medication for dementia, and "is unable to properly provide for his own personal needs for physical health, food, clothing, or shelter." A court-appointed attorney to represent Wilson's interests, Robert Cipriano, said he visited Wilson at his "impeccably well maintained residence in Beverly Hills," where he lives with two daughters and a long-term live-in caregiver. Cipriano's report said he visited Wilson at his "impeccably well maintained residence in Beverly Hills," where he lives with two daughters and a long-term live-in caregiver. Wilson can move around with help from a walker and the caregiver, Cipriano said, and he has a good sense of who he is, where he is, and when it is, but could not name his children beyond the two that live with him. He said Wilson was "mostly difficult to understand and gave very short responses to questions and comments." Cipriano said he approved of the conservatorship, mostly because of Wilson's general consent. The deeply revered and acclaimed California musician has struggled with mental health and substance abuse issues that upended his career in the 1960s. He was inducted into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame in 1988 along with his bandmates, including his brothers Carl and Dennis Wilson and his cousin Mike Love. - AP, 5/10/24...... Late country music artist Cindy Walker, best known for penning the famous cross-genre classic "You Don't Know Me" which was covered by Ray Charles and countless others, was inducted into the Songwriters Hall of Fame (SHOF) in a special event on Apr. 19 at historic Columbia Studio A in Nashville. The ceremony took place during a SHOF Master Session with Liz Rose, a 2023 SHOF inductee. Rose spoke fondly of her close relationship with Ms. Walker and presented the award to Walker's niece Molly Walker. Rose's daughter Caitlin Rose performed "You Don't Know Me," which Walker co-wrote with Eddy Arnold, who had the initial hit with the song in 1956. Ms. Walker, who died in 2006 at age 87, was in the first class of inductees into the Nashville Songwriters Hall of Fame in 1970. In 1997, she became the first female songwriter to be inducted into the Country Music Hall of Fame and in 2009, received the Poet's Award from the Academy of Country Music. Ray Charles recorded "You Don't Know Me" on his landmark 1962 album Modern Sounds in Country and Western Music, which topped the Billboard 200 for 14 weeks. Charles' version of the song reached No. 2 on the Billboard Hot 100. Ms. Walker's many other country hits for other artists included "Sugar Moon" (Bob Wills, 1947), "Take Me in Your Arms and Hold Me" (Eddy Arnold, 1950), "Cherokee Maiden" (Merle Haggard, 1976) and Mickey Gilley's 1981 cover of "You Don't Know Me." She even had a hit record as an artist in 1944. "When My Blue Moon Turns to Gold Again" reached No. 5 on an early version of Billboard's Hot Country Songs chart in 1944, and was later covered by Elvis Presley. - Billboard, 5/9/24...... 
Paul McCartney unveiled a photographic exhibit of his personal photos as the Fab Four shot to international fame in 1963-64 to an American audience on May 3 at the Brooklyn Museum in New York City. Paul McCartney Photographs 1963-64: Eyes of the Storm were put on display at the National Portrait Gallery in London in 2023 and have now made their way to the US. The exhibit takes outsiders into the Liverpool native's surreal reality when he was just 21 years old, on the precipice of becoming one of four of the biggest music stars history has ever seen. The immersive exhibit also features video footage and archival materials and traces the Beatles' ascent from touring at small concert halls in England to dodging hordes of rabid fans and paparazzi in the States. "His vibrant photographs from The Beatles' first visit capture the energy of the city, the excitement of the American fans, and the frenzy of the band's status as celebrities," says the Brooklyn Museum's Catherine Futter. "Through McCartney's lens, we feel the intensity of being at the center of such extraordinary events." The exhibit will be on display at the Brooklyn Museum through Aug. 18. - Billboard, 5/6/24...... The Disney+ streaming channel premiered a new, restored version of The Beatles' 1970 film Let It Be on May 8. The film's title track uses rarely-seen alternate camera angles of the Fab Four and Billy Preston as they were recording the song, and the video has been shared on 
Talking Heads drummer Chris Frantz teased a possible reunion of the band in a May 7 Instagram post of a photo of a theater with the band headlining it, and captioned the picture: "We shall return." The 72-year-old Frantz, who played in the iconic New Wave band alongside David Byrne, Jerry Harrison and Tina Weymouth, saw the break up in Dec. 1991 after frontman Byrne left the band. Frantz explained he only found out that Byrne was leaving the band after reading the story in a newspaper, previously telling the Los Angeles Times: "As far as we're concerned, the band never really broke up. David just decided to leave." During an interview with People, he said: "I think [the end] wasn't handled well. It was kind of ugly. I have regrets on how that was handled. I don't think I did it in the best way, but I think it was kind of inevitable that would happen anyway." Byrne, 71, conceded he acted like a "little tyrant" during his time in the group. "As a younger person, I was not as pleasant to be around. When I was working on some Talking Heads shows, I was more of a little tyrant," he noted. "And then I learned to relax, and I also learned that collaborating with people, both sides get more if there's a good relationship instead of me telling everybody what to do." - Music-News.com, 5/7/24...... Dennis Thompson, the high energy drummer for influential Detroit band MC5, died on May 9 at MediLodge of Taylor in Michigan, where he had been recovering following a heart attack in April. He was 75. Thompson was the last surviving member of the band, who are set to be inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame this fall in the musical excellence category. Thompson was preceded in death by singer Rob Tyner, guitarist Fred "Sonic" Smith, bassist Michael Davis and guitarist Wayne Kramer, the last of which died in February of this year. Thompson joined the MC5 in 1965. While the band had little commercial success initially and its core lineup did not last beyond the early 1970s, its legacy has endured, both for its sound and for its fusing of music to political action. The band released three studio albums, 1969's Kick Out the Jams, 1970's Back in the USA and 1971's High Time. - Billboard, 5/9/24...... Actress-dancer Susan Buckner, best known for her turn as the bubbly and often-teased Rydell High cheerleader Patty Simcox in the 1978 blockbuster musical 
Legendary grunge rock engineer/producer Steve Albini, who also worked with such '70s acts as Cheap Trick and The Stooges, died of a heart attack on the evening on May 7. He was 61. In addition to recording Nirvana's final full studio album, 1993's In Utero, he also worked on the beloved 1988 album Surfer Rosa by one of late Nirvana singer Kurt Cobain's favorite bands, the Pixies. Constantly toggling between albums by A-list major label acts (PJ Harvey and Bush) and beloved indie bands from his native Chicago (Urge Overkill, The Jesus Lizard, Tar), Albini was also a prolific musician in his own right with a series of hardcore and noise bands, including Big Black, Rapeman and Shellac. Though he disdained the term "producer," preferring "engineer" instead, the Pasadina, Calif.-born Albini said in a 2018 interview that worked on more than 2,000 albums. Albini positioned himself as a staunch outsider in the mainstream music industry, which he considered exploitative, refusing to accept the traditional producer royalties for any of the albums he recorded at his Chicago studio. Often working on dozens of albums per year, Albini -- also an award-winning poker player -- kept up his torrid pace until his death, re-teaming with frequent collaborator folk singer Nina Nastasia in 2022, as well as working on albums by Black Midi, Spare Snare, Liturgy and Code Orange over the past two years. Shellac were poised to release their first album in a decade, To All Trains, later in May, and had booked a series of shows in England in June, followed by a run of U.S. dates in Chicago, New York and Los Angeles in July. - Billboard, 5/8/24.
As the new highly anticipated Beach Boys authorized documentary The Beach Boys premiered on May 24, BB co-founders Al Jardine and Mike Love sat down with Billboard at Hollywood's EastWest Studios to comment on the film. Jardine says he first met Brian and Carl Wilson, cousins of Love, in high school some 60 years ago and, according to Love, "the blending developed into something much more sublime." The key to the Beach Boys' stunning vocal arrangements, was "sublimating your individuality" for the good of the overall sound...we were obsessed with that," Love adds. The Beach Boys, initially comprised of Jardine, Love, Brian, Carl and Dennis Wilson, have charted 55 songs on the pop charts -- starting with their first sun-drenched single, "Surfin'," in 1962, and including four No. 1's: 1964's "I Get Around," 1965's "Help Me, Rhonda," 1966's "Good Vibrations" and 1988's "Kokomo." The documentary examines the band's creation in Hawthorne, Calif., and how they became, as the film attests, "America's band" -- and have remained so, with their upbeat music spanning more than half a century. "Certainly my goal was to find out how it all happened, and to tell the individual stories of each member," says director Frank Marshall, who has directed previous music documentaries on the Bee Gees and James Taylor/Carole King. "It's very complicated. A couple of members come and go and come back. And so it was really a journey for me of exploring how this group came together and what made it tick." The five original band members reunited again briefly on May 21 at the premiere of the documentary in Los Angeles, and Love says he looks at the whole process as a gift. "We're grateful and thankful and somewhat honored to have this documentary that Mr. Marshall has taken under wing," he says. "It's a fantastic thing to have happen at this stage of our lives." The official trailer of The Beach Boys can be viewed on 
In other Springsteen-related news, The Boss's country artist daughter Alana Springsteen recently brought friends together in a Nashville backyard to crack a Bud Light beer and offer a glimpse into her songwriting process and more. "When I think of country music, I think of home. I think of where I grew up -- family -- all the best things," the Alana explained in her installment of the Billboard presents Bud Light Backyard content series. "I've just always experienced my life through music. Once I started writing my own songs, I never looked back. That was it for me." A 23-year-old country singer with a soulful voice and vulnerable songwriting style, Springsteen had a publishing deal by her mid-teens, and knows a thing or two about storytelling. Born and raised in Virginia Beach, Va., she grew up singing in church and received her first guitar at the age of seven. She credits her uncle for teaching her chords and technique early on. After an impressive 2019 self-titled debut EP, she shared two more projects ahead of her first-ever full length LP, Twenty Something, which dropped in 2023. "The secret to writing great songs and being creative is just keeping it casual," she added, adding that collaboration with her trusted circle of friends that includes Corey Kent and Dalton Dover helps the everyday process. Her interview has been shared on 
Rapper Sean "Diddy" Combs, already the object of several accusations alleging he raped or abused at least eight women, has yet another story that makes him look even worse than he already does -- this time that he disprespected iconic R&B singer Chaka Khan and had her son beaten up, according to Khan's daughter. Indira Milini Khan brought her anger toward the 54-year-old Diddy by commenting on his Instagram apology video from May 19. "I'm glad this is happening to you," Indira posted on 
Even though a Rush reunion is unlikely to happen, guitarist Alex Lifeson has been playing songs from the band he was a member of for five decades with lead vocalist/bassist Geddy Lee again. In a new interview with Ultimate Classic Rock he says he and Lee have been playing old Rush songs during weekly hangouts. "We decided that we would play some Rush songs. Because, you know, we haven't played these songs in 10 years," Lifeson tells the magazine. "We started that a couple of weeks ago. We get together one day a week over at his place. We just picked some Rush songs and we started playing them and we sound like a really, really bad Rush tribute band." Rush played their final show in 2015 and called it quits after drummer Neil Peart died in Jan. 2020. In the years since, Lifeson and Lee have kept themselves busy with a variety of side projects -- including Lifeson's Envy of None band he co-founded in 2021 -- but the two have maintained a close bond that stretches back to the early '70s. Playing together, casually, has been a fun exercise, Rock and Roll Hall of Famer Lifeson says. "Trying to figure out the songs, I'm thinking, 'Why did we write that so difficult? Why is this so hard to play?'" he says. "After about three run-throughs of all of these songs, muscle memory kicks in and your hand just goes to where it goes. You sort of get out of the way and you play and you go, 'Thank God, I did make this simpler than it felt.'" But Lifeson cautioned that he and Lee have no plans to reform Rush with a new drummer for a tour. "I'm 70. It's not as easy to get my fingers to do what my brain tells me to do," he says. "They're much lazier than they used to be and they have a poor memory. Doing this really helps a lot, and it's fun. That's it. The whole thing was that in the beginning, it was just fun. We're having a riot together doing that. There's no rhyme or reason. We're not planning on going back on the road, finding a new drummer or anything like that. It's just fun to do it." - Canoe.com, 5/22/24...... Neil Young and Crazy Horse have announced a new archival album, 
Richard M. Sherman, the Oscar-winning songwriter who partnered with his late brother to craft tunes for such Disney classics as Mary Poppins, Chitty Chitty Bang Bang and The Jungle Book, died on May 25 at the age of 95. Mr. Sherman, who also co-wrote "It's a Small World (After All)" -- considered to be among the most performed songs ever -- as well as "You're Sixteen," a 1960 hit for Johnny Burnette which Ringo Starr took to No. 1 on the hit parade in 1974, died at Cedars-Sinai Medical Center in Los Angeles of age-related illness, Disney announced. Members of the Songwriters Hall of Fame and recipients of the National Medal of Honor, Richard and his older brother, Robert Sherman, wrote an estimated 1,000 songs and music for 50 movies, and they were reportedly responsible for more movie musical songs than anyone in history. For their work on Mary Poppins (1964), the Sherman brothers made two victorious trips to the Academy Awards stage at the Santa Monica Civic Auditorium, accepting the trophies for best original score and best song ("Chim Chim Cher-ee"). Their movie work also included The Parent Trap (1961) -- which featured "Let's Get Together," their inventive "duet" performed by Hayley Mills -- The Sword in the Stone (1963), Winnie the Pooh and the Honey Tree (1966), The AristoCats (1970), Snoopy, Come Home (1972), Charlotte's Web (1973), Tom Sawyer (1973) and The Tigger Movie (2000). Richard Sherman was born in Manhattan on June 12, 1928, 30 months after his brother. Their mother was a Broadway actress and their father was Tin Pan Alley composer Al Sherman. Robert died in March 2012 at age 86. B.J. Novak played him, and Jason Schwartzman portrayed Richard, in the Disney film Saving Mr. Banks (2013), about the making of Mary Poppins. Survivors include his wife of 66 years, Elizabeth; his children, Gregory, Victoria and Lynda; five grandchildren; and three great-grandchildren. - The Hollywood Reporter, 5/25/24...... Country music artist Frank Ifield -- who also is credited with helping to launch The Beatles into stardom -- died "peacefully" on May 18. He was 86. Mr. Ifield was reportedly given a guitar at the age of 13 and self-taught when it came to playing and writing songs. The musician released 44 records in just six years and was the top recording artist in Australia, New Zealand, and Tasmania. After moving to the UK, he introduced his fans to soon-to-be rock legends The Beatles, as the band acted as the opener for him at his live shows. He also famously performed to the late Queen Elizabeth II in 1965 as he appeared at the Royal Variety Show. In 2009, Mr. Ifield was awarded the Medal of the Order of Australia for his service to the arts as an entertainer. He is survived by his wife Carole Wood and two children. - NME, 5/20/24.
Willie Nelson has joined the list of grown musician cookbooks by teaming with his wife Annie Nelson for a cookbook featuring their favorite recipes, all infused with cannabis. 
Weeks after legendary The Four Seasons frontman Frankie Valli and his son Emilio Valli were granted a temporary restraining order against Valli's oldest son, Francesco Valli, a judge extended the order on Apr. 29 for three more years. Emilio, 29, said in his initial court filing that his brother Francesco, 36, had repeatedly threatened both Emilio and Frankie, 90, over "the past several months," as Frankie had been financially supporting Francesco but recently made that support contingent on Francesco's entering a residential drug-treatment program. The most recent incident occured on Apr. 5, when Francesco allegedly "repeatedly physically threatened to harm or kill" Emilio. "Frankie is saddened by these unfortunate events," a rep for the 
The long-awaited first authorized Led Zeppelin documentary, Becoming Led Zeppelin, has been acquired by Sony Pictures Classics, which has announced plans to distribute the film in North America, Latin America, the Middle East, Southeast Asia (except Japan) and Benelux. The hybrid documentary-concert film reportedly features never-before-seen footage, performances and music and is described as an "experiential cinematic odyssey exploring Led Zeppelin's creative, musical and personal origin story," told in Led Zepp's own words in the first officially sanctioned movie about the band. In 2021, a work-in-progress version of the film was screened at the Venice Film Festival, and received a 10-minute standing ovation. The film follows the band's four members -- singer Robert Plant, guitarist Jimmy Page, bassist John Paul Jones and late drummer John Bonham -- as they rise up through the British music scene in the 1960s playing in small clubs. It follows them to a fateful rehearsal in 1968 that changed the course of their careers and culminates in their first tour of America in 1970 as they ascended to rock superstardom. The film features a new sound mix, previously unseen materials from the archives of all four members, including home movies and family photos, as well as exclusive interviews with Page, Plant and Jones, and never-before-heard interviews with Bonham. Becoming Led Zeppelin was written and directed by Bernard MacMahon (American Epic) and Allison McGourty, with director MacMahon saying that the team spent "years designing this film to be experienced on the big screen with the best possible sound." A release date has yet to be announced for the film, but you can watch an official Venice teaser clip prepared for the Venice debut on 
Popular comic actor Dabney Coleman, best known for his roles in such iconic films as 9 to 5, Tootsie and On Golden Pond as well as a stint in the